Connections
by obsessed1
Summary: A mission gone bad leaves Sheppard in agony. Shep whump.


H/C Ficathon 2008 - written for Rymer23

Thank you to Kristen999 for the Beta. She had her own story to fight with and yet she gave me some invaluable advice on this one. So Thank You!!

The Jumper doesn't land with its usual finesse. It thumps heavily onto the bay floor and as the rear door descends, Doctor Keller can already hear raised voices and somebody shouting at the top of their lungs.

"Help me hold him down!"

With the ramp down, Keller races into the rear compartment and finds Colonel Sheppard lying on the floor, held down by Teyla and Ronon, pleading for one of them to put him out of his misery. He's twisting under their grip, fighting to get away, one hand clamped down over his leg.

Keller kneels beside them and places a comforting hand on Sheppard's shoulder. He barely registers her, writhing helplessly while biting down on his bottom lip. She's never seen him like this before and it unsettles her.

Sheppard manages to get his other arm free and Ronon grips him by the wrist before he can bat them out of the way.

"Knock me the hell out!" Sheppard orders, eyes glassy and unfocused.

Keller takes a calming breath and does her best to assess the situation. Sheppard is awake but disorientated. There's a nasty head wound bleeding profusely and coating one side of his face. She considers this as the reason for his uncharacteristic behaviour. Confusion is a big warning sign.

But then her eyes are drawn to where he's gripping his leg, kneading the area with such force she thinks his wrist will snap.

"What happened?" she asks, eyes darting from one team member to another.

They're all cut up and look thoroughly exhausted. She catches a glimpse of Ronon's arms, shredded open and bleeding.

Teyla and Ronon try to hold onto Sheppard, while McKay hovers helplessly behind them, hands twisting together. He's never been good at this part.

"You need to help him!" McKay tells her in a clipped tone. "Please, this is-"

"God," Sheppard chokes out and squeezes his eyes shut.

No answer comes.

"Get a gurney over here!" Keller calls out to her waiting medics. "John?" she soothes. "We need to move you now."

He ignores her words. He makes a horrible spluttering noise and tries to roll onto his side, away from her and away from help. It takes a few minutes to coax Sheppard out of his foetal position. When he's on the gurney, he reaches for his leg again, clawing at it, pressing so hard that his knuckles are white.

His team follows them through the halls, while Sheppard's moans echo around them.

"Teyla?"

Teyla meets her eyes and Keller can see her force clarity.

"I need to know what's going on. How did he get injured?" And where was he injured, because other than the blood on his face, his pant legs aren't torn and there's no blood.

Teyla must have seen the look on her face. "He is uninjured."

"But his leg and-"

Sheppard writhes on the gurney and curls in on himself.

"Did he hit his head?"

"He was attacked but did not fall unconscious."

People are watching them as they pass through the halls, grimacing, shocked by the Colonel's display. He has an infamously high threshold for pain, so whatever has him in such a state must be agony.

"If I'm to treat him, I need to know everything," Keller tells her.

"Teyla?"

"As a child, I had heard stories of the collective, but I had not believed them." Teyla laughs abruptly and shakes her head. "I have been truly naïve."

Ronon clasps a bloody hand over Teyla's shoulder. He doesn't speak but the intent is there.

"We were told that these creatures must go into stasis to regenerate." She pauses. "They pool their consciousness together, so that they may communicate……..watch their bodies while they sleep. As a youngling the stories terrified me, in some ways, more than the wraith. The idea that a being can sleep and yet still see and hear and……"

"What happened?"

"I believe they felt threatened by our presence. By John in particular."

Sheppard is still clutching his leg but he's grown silent – eyes focused on Teyla as she explains.

"They attacked us…we had no choice."

"Teyla?"

"They connected to John somehow. Whatever pain we inflicted on them, he has been feeling."

"Only, he shouldn't now, should he?" McKay says falling into step beside them. "We came through the gate and he's still in agony!"

They roll the gurney into the infirmary and no sooner have they stopped are nurses cutting open Sheppard's pants to get to his leg and tearing off his t-shirt. There's hardly a mark on him.

--

Some time earlier………………………

"How longs this gonna take, McKay?"

McKay looks up from the laptop balanced precariously on his knee and sighs, "Oh I don't know, let me hop into my handy time machine, flash forward and find out for you. It'll take as long as it takes!" He huffs in a deep breath. "It takes a huge amount of energy to sustain those pods. Would you like to find out why or would you rather we-"

Sheppard holds his hand up and stalls him before he can rant any longer. He continues to lean against the wall, legs stretched out in front of him. "You're just taking longer to figure this out than you normally do."

From across the room, Ronon grins. Teyla shakes her head in an effort to dissuade him, but McKay's answering glare is enough to spur Sheppard on.

"I mean, we've been here for hours. Face it Rodney. You're losing your touch."

"This doesn't come with a manual Colonel. Would you rather I blunder ahead and accidentally open those pods through there? On second thought, I'm sure you and the pod people would get along famously. Only the brain dead would enjoy Die Hard, which I'm sick of you choosing for movie night by the way."

"One word, McKay. Bambi."

"How many times! That wasn't my fault. It was in the box for Dark City and who's the one that insisted, while it was on, we might as well all watch it?"

"That film was extremely traumatic," Teyla informs them both.

Sheppard crosses his arms. "How much longer are you going to be?"

"Oh would you just be quiet. Why don't you and Ronon go off and explore the creepy corridors. I'm sure you could have a scintillating conversation about guns or whatever it is you two talk about."

Ronon nods and shoots Sheppard a pleading look.

"Because," Sheppard says. "We've explored the hell out of this place. We haven't exactly been short on time."

"Oh hardy ha Colonel."

"Hey, I'm just concerned for you. We stay here any longer and we're going to have to bed down in a stasis pod for the night and I'd hate for your screaming like a little girl keep me up all night."

"The pods are off-line."

"You sure?"

"I wouldn't be sitting here if they weren't."

"No you'd be screaming like a little girl," Ronon remarks with a smile.

"Perhaps, you should allow Rodney to continue his work. Lest we be here for several more hours."

"Thank you Teyla." And then realising what she has just said, McKay pouts. "Look, I'm going as fast as I can okay? I'd probably have this done by now if you didn't keep interrupting me. If you're bored Sheppard, why don't you help?"

Sheppard pushes himself up onto his feet and dusts off his hands. "Sure. What can I do?"

McKay looks taken aback, mouth gaping open like an oxygen starved fish. "You actually want to help?"

"Beats sitting on my ass. Tell me what to do before I change my mind."

"Oh….well," McKay smiles briefly. "Just watch the console."

"The one with the big brain?"

McKay rolls his eyes. "Yes, Colonel."

Sheppard steps up to the console. Inside, there are swirling blue lights that ripple under a glass casing. They react when he hovers his hand over it; charging, colliding.

"Just tell me if anything changes."

Sheppard nods and leans against the console.

"Careful."

"I'm just leaning."

"Just…..watch okay?"

Sheppard gets lost watching the hypnotic lights for a few minutes and when he remembers he's supposed to be helping, he addresses the top of McKay's head. "Are you actually doing anything down there?"

"I'm trying to turn it off…" and then to Sheppard's raised finger. "Without waking them up, obviously. I just want to get a look at this power source. Anything that has this place running for so long must be of value." He clicks away at his laptop. "Anything?"

"Nope. Nothing's happening. You sure you haven't broken it?"

"I haven't broken anything."

McKay continues to sit and tap and then he's messing with wires and cursing.

"Now?"

Sheppard sighs. "No." And then just because he'd get a rise out of McKay adds, "You want me to shoot it offline?"

McKay bobs his head and looks panicked, "Quiet. They might be able to hear you."

"Swift kick?"

"Very funny. Now stop antagonising them. Is there a panel in the front that you can pry open?"

Sheppard crouches down and notes that there is a square section at the base of the console. "Got one."

"Can you open it?"

Sheppard leans around the console to glare at McKay. "Why can't you do that?"

"Because, I'm monitoring the power levels. I cannot, contrary to popular belief, do two things at once. "

"Fine." Sheppard set to it.

At first he tries to pry it open with his fingers but he doesn't have enough leverage. When his finger slips and he lifts a nail, he mutters a curse and sucks on it.

"You done yet?"

Retrieving his knife, Sheppard works it into a gap. The panel is stuck fast.

"Working on it," Sheppard tells him.

With the knife jammed into one corner, Sheppard wiggles the shaft back and forth and then losing all patience, stamps on the handle. The panel snaps off, clangs to the floor noisily, to reveal a mass of wires and crystals.

"Careful!" McKay scolds.

"It was stuck fast, McKay."

"Yes well….." and then McKay pauses. "Hang on. Something's happening."

Sheppard edges back and holds his hands up. "I haven't touched anything."

"That can't be right. That's…….." McKay gets to his knees and pales. "The power is spiking."

"Well, it's-" Sheppard straightens, just in time to watch as the blue lights are spilling out of the console towards him.

He barely registers that he's been hit until he's flying backwards and landing painfully on the floor. Those lights dance around him and he hears disjointed voices through the din in his head.

"You hurt us. We will hurt you." They warn.

Then the white noise disappears, the lights are sucked back into the console and Sheppard can hear McKay shouting at him. He blinks a few times to clear his head.

"What the hell was that?" he asks as Ronon offers him a hand to pull him up.

Teyla is beside him hovering worriedly. "Are you injured?"

"No." He staggers and Ronon sets him straight.

John moves over to the wall and uses it to steady himself.

"You broke it!" McKay snaps irritably.

"I'm fine by the way, Rodney." Sheppard replaces his fallen earpiece. "And I did not break it. The damn thing overloaded or something!"

"You must have touched something. I told you to open the panel not…..activate it!"

"I thought we established early on that this wasn't ancient tech?"

"It isn't."

Sheppard nods and rubs at his head. His body tingles and he tries to shake it off.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine Ronon. Thank you for your concern."

"Oh you're fine. Aren't you?" McKay asks as he moves around the console.

"Yes."

"Maybe you pissed it off," Ronon suggests in a chiding tone. "Probably didn't like being threatened."

"Funny." Sheppard pushes away from the wall, already feeling steadier as the lingering effects of being stunned wears off. "Did you hear that voice before?"

Ronon shakes his head and the others look at him as if he's gone insane.

Sheppard decides not to elaborate. "Probably nothing…I'm fine."

"Sure?"

"Sure."

McKay speaks up. "Uh oh."

"What uh oh?" Sheppard asks.

"The pod people are coming out of stasis!" McKay blurts out and then he's rushing over to his laptop and hammering away at the keys. "No, no…..no……..dammit! No!"

"Can you stop it?"

"Did you not just hear me say no, no no?" McKay glares. "The central console has powered down and the pods are coming on-line."

"I thought you had everything under control?"

"Colonel, if you make one comment about me losing my touch then I will batter you to death with my laptop. I didn't do anything. The pods are powering up by themselves."

"Right," Sheppard announces, unlatching the safety on his P-90. "I think it's time to get out of here."

McKay is already scrabbling around, collecting his gear.

The lights around them dim and start pulsing. They stare at one another in turn.

"That cannot be good," McKay whispers.

"Stay behind us," Sheppard tells him before signalling for them to move out.

They've only been walking for a few minutes when something screeches up ahead. It's a bone chilling shriek that has Sheppard stopping and tensing.

"That's definitely not good," McKay says.

Seconds later and the creatures that were once in stasis are rounding the corner, crawling along the walls, the ceiling, and their eyes are flashing angrily.

They're skin is sallow and stretched across gangly arms and legs. There's nothing graceful in their movements. They twitch and jerk forward, their claws tapping along whatever surface they choose to utilise. They all move with their mouths wide open, exposing sharp pointed teeth and black tongues.

Sheppard depresses the trigger on his P-90 and starts with warning shots. It's an impressive display – bullets ricochet off the walls and direct plaster into the air – but the creatures aren't fazed.

"They're still coming at us!" McKay squeaks and Sheppard distantly hears the scientist un-latch the safety on his handgun.

"Maybe they're-" Sheppard is cut off prematurely by one of those things swiping at him angrily from the wall above him. He barely manages to step back in time to avoid its razor-sharp talons.

Ronon doesn't offer a warning. He fires and strikes the ashen faced creature in the chest.

More advance and Sheppard's about to add his own fire when he's crippled by pain. He seizes up and drops his aim, bending inward to take a deep breath. Thinking he's been hit, he pats his vest only to find no trace of injury.

Ronon fires again. Sheppard grits his teeth as pain explodes across his chest. Unable to stay upright, he sinks to the ground at the same time as the creature in front of him does.

"Sheppard?"

"I'm okay," Sheppard tells Ronon.

He has no idea what just happened and not enough time to explain. He forces himself up to his knees and brushes it off as a delayed reaction to being stunned earlier.

More are coming down the halls, skittering and chattering as they move. They're all long limbs and everything about them is angular and sharp.

Sheppard fires his own onslaught of bullets into one creature's stomach. He's driven down again. Red hot agony burns in his gut. He tries to ignore it, stubbornly refusing to pass out as everyone else fires their weapons.

One of the pod people manages to get through and Ronon's racing forward, slugging it in the face before it can advance any further. It crumples to the ground in one ungainly motion and Sheppard reaches up for his head, groaning as the pain pulses behind his eyes and threatens to overcome him.

"John?"

"Head back the other way," Sheppard tells Teyla and Ronon without looking up. "We can't go this way."

He sees Teyla shoot Ronon a concerned look but then follows his orders without question. She and McKay head down the hall behind them.

Sheppard takes a minute he's not allowed, breathing in deeply before bracing himself to get up. Something is crawling down the wall above his head in horrible jerky motions. It emerges from the darkness and wails loudly, alerting his friends.

Sheppard aims up without thinking and shoots it. He's still feeling fuzzy and his aim is off. The bullet glances of its shoulder. A screech of pain tears through the corridor and it drops to the ground.

Sheppard sags against the wall, realising he had been the one to cry out and clamps his eyes closed, Ronon finishes it off. Shot to the head by the feel of it.

"Ah……"

Ronon yanks him into a standing position and hauls him down the corridor in pursuit of Teyla and McKay.

"What was that?"

"I don't know…." Sheppard manages to gasp out. "Felt as though I'd been shot."

They round a corner to be confronted by another one of those creatures. It raises it's talons to slash and Sheppard reacts on instinct. He fires a few rounds into the creature and grips his side in response. He spends a second bent double and wheezing for breath.

Ronon grips his shoulder and arches an eyebrow. "You felt that?"

Sheppard nods because he can't speak yet. He's trying to curl around the pain that shouldn't be there.

Ronon tugs his t-shirt and tac vest up roughly where Sheppard's holding his side. There's no blood. Nothing.

Ronon is saying something, but Sheppard drifts in and out. He's too busy staring at the creature on the floor. Its limbs are still twitching and Sheppard swears he can feel every beat of its dying heart.

Pain. It's all consuming. He can feel the phantom bullet lodged within his own chest. It makes it difficult to pull in enough air. His heart is racing.

The creature makes a horrible keening noise and throws its head back.

The pain abates a little and Sheppard finds the strength to get to his feet.

When the pain is gone, he realises the creature is dead.

Something was wrong. It wasn't coincidence every time one of these creatures was injured that he was feeling it as well. Somehow, he didn't know how, he was tied to them. Feeling their pain. Their hurt was his hurt, just as the disjointed voices had warned.

"Come on," Sheppard says patting Ronon on the arm.

Ronon fires on the approaching creatures. The blast knocks them off their feet and leaves them writhing on the floor, screeching in horrible high pitched voices. At the same time, Sheppard goes to his knees again, one arm wrapped around his stomach, the other clasping his weapon and attempting to aim and fire at the same time.

"Sorry." Ronon says and then yanks Sheppard up by the arm to haul him through the dark corridors of the facility.

"S'okay," Sheppard manages to grit out. "Don't worry about me. They're trying to attack us."

They run together, each step becoming easier when Sheppard is again downed by a pain in the back of his head. He skids to a stop, waits a second for the pain to subside and then glares up at Ronon.

Ronon grabs him by his tac vest and then activates his earpiece. "McKay?"

Sheppard pushes Ronon off him and starts off down the corridor, gun raised warily as they make slow progress. He's listening to Ronon tell McKay the situation when there's a burst of staccato gunfire up ahead. He flinches and shakes his hand out. He's mercifully uninjured but he'd felt a bullet pass through his palm and crush the bones inside.

He was getting freaked out when McKay runs toward them, gun out but hesitant to use it and by the look on Teyla's face, she feels the same.

"Is it true?" Teyla asks, concerned.

Sheppard doesn't say anything. He leads them on and tries to ignore the ghostly spasms that are shooting through his body.

They turn a corner and something leaps out from the shadows. Sheppard realises that McKay has no choice but to depress the trigger but it doesn't lessen the pain one bit. The bullet catches the creature in the thigh and it goes to the floor, screaming. "Sorry!" McKay says. "I had to it-"

Sheppard looks up from where he's been driven to the ground, clutching his leg, mouth set in a hard line. He aims his P-90 and peppers the creature with bullets. It stills instantly, black blood coats the walls and the floor. "If you're going to shoot them……" Sheppard swallows thickly. "At least…kill them."

"Sorry. Are you okay?" McKay asks as Sheppard shakily gets to his feet.

Sheppard nods, checks the clip in his P-90 and stubbornly walks on, limping slightly.

They manage to find the exit to the facility. Outside its dark and the air is thick with fog. Sheppard grimaces when he feels a ghosting pain in his thigh. He covers it up by shifting his P-90 and saying, "The Jumper's about an hour away. We need to keep moving. If you can, warning fire to start, if not then kill shots only. Rodney, just try to stay ahead of us. "

McKay looks between three all of them and seems offended. Sheppard can't trust him to kill in one shot and if earlier was anything to go by, he didn't fancy feeling a bullet grind against nerve endings when one of those things was still alive.

"Teyla you up front with McKay. Ronon and me will take the six."

Everyone nods. And then they head off, listening to the sounds of their footfalls and heavy breathing.

--

It doesn't take long for the pod people to catch up to them – they hear them before they see them, their chatter cuts through the fog like their flashlights can't and before they know it all hell's breaking loose.

Ronon runs beside Sheppard and pushes his hand into McKay's back to propel him forward. He can't see Teyla but he knows she's ahead of them.

These things, whatever they are, are fast. As much as Ronon doesn't want to admit defeat, they are going to catch up.

Ronon primes his blaster, fingers twitching. One look at Sheppard reminds him that he has to exercise restraint. And he's never been very good at that.

Suddenly, Teyla is screaming for them to stop and they all skid into the back of one another.

"What the-" Sheppard steps forward and his eyes widen.

The fog has disorientated them. They've taken a wrong turn and now they're standing at the edge of a precipice. There's no where to go. Only back towards the creatures that are trying to kill them.

"What now?" McKay asks, stepping away from the rim.

Sheppard's holding his fist up. It's the sign that Ronon learned early on that means silence. They can hear the crunch of twigs and then there's dozens of sets of eyes staring back at them. They're not moving forward to attack but they're not leaving either.

"We're being surrounded," Ronon says.

"Oh really?" McKay asks.

Sheppard's been silent all this time. Ronon catches the look in his eyes and nods. Decision made.

"McKay," Ronon says flatly. "Grab Sheppard's arm."

"Why?"

"Just do it. Teyla-"

Teyla has always had good intuition. She takes Sheppard's other arm and he arranges his gun so that he can fire if he needs to.

"Why are we doing this?" McKay is confused, clearly. "Because this is no time for a line dance…I mean really-"

"Rodney," Sheppard warns and shoots him a look.

The instant that Ronon starts firing, Sheppard yells out and curls inward, and only stays upright because of his team members.

As Ronon blasts the creatures coming at them he waves them forward and Teyla instructs McKay to help her move Sheppard. Sheppard gets off a few shots but he's just trying to stay standing, mouth twisted.

"Run!" Ronon tells them, following them and providing cover.

His aim is spot on. One creature falls after another where they stand. When he senses that the other's are far enough ahead he'll stop shooting, allow Sheppard some respite, and hope he makes it back to Atlantis.

--

McKay's trying to move as fast as he can but Sheppard's leaning heavily and every time he tries to take a step, their legs get tangled. Teyla's panting hard as she tries to keep hold. The terrain is difficult and uneven and the fog makes it impossible to see what's up ahead. McKay's convinced that any second, something is going to jump out at them and they won't be able to react quickly enough.

"How much further?" McKay pants as he tries and fails to readjust his grip on Sheppard.

"We still have a way to go," Teyla informs him.

Sheppard's shaking and he tenses , body going rigid with pain, both of them pause. They allow him a minute to regain composure and then set off again.

"If he hadn't been bored then-"

"Then what? Rodney." Teyla asks. "None of us could have known."

"You said you'd heard stories. You should have warned him."

"They were only stories. I did not know they were capable of this!"

Sheppard screams out and McKay is taken aback because Sheppard never screams.

"Are you-"

Sheppard grits his teeth and swallows, digging his fingers into McKay's shoulder as he fights whatever pain Ronon is causing those creatures.

"We must hurry," Teyla tells him.

McKay nods and lets out his own wail of agony as Sheppard tenses again and pulls his spine out of alignment. "Ow!"

"S'rry," Sheppard says.

"It's okay. I've need chiropractic adjustment for a while." McKay pats Sheppard's back awkwardly.

After another few minutes walking Sheppard seems to come back to the land of living and digs his heels into the mud. They both lose their grip and he stumbles to his knees.

"What are you doing?" McKay goes to help him back up, but Sheppard's the most lucid he's been in ages and he shakes his head. "We have to keep moving."

"John, Rodney is correct," Teyla goes for him this time, but Sheppard moves his hand away and taps his earpiece.

"Ronon?" He waits a few seconds before trying again. "He's not answering. Something's wrong."

Teyla shares a confused look with McKay and they seem to realise at the same time that Sheppard's standing up, unaided and not showing any signs of pain.

"Nothing hurts," Sheppard tells them and he un-latches the safety on his P-90.

"Ronon isn't shooting them anymore."

"Or he's killed them all? Or he's on his way to us?" McKay tries.

"Or something else. I don't like this."

"John, we must continue. Ronon can take care of himself."

"Teyla," Sheppard rubs at his side.

"We should return to the Jumper. Once you are safe we shall return for Ronon."

--

At the Jumper McKay opens the rear hatch and Sheppard paces. He's not in anymore pain and he's getting twitchy. He's already suggested hiking back but they both vetoed it.

"I don't like this," he tells them again.

"We have discussed this," Teyla tells him and she sounds weary all of a sudden.

"Hey, I'm the team leader remember?" Sheppard primes his P-90. "I'm heading back."

"No, John. You're not."

It's the first time McKay has seen these two argue but he can tell that they're both reacting with worry for their team members.

"I feel fine now!"

"John, you know that cannot last."

"Teyla-"

There's a scream from far away. They all still. The creatures are coming.

"Crap!" Sheppard sighs. "Everyone get ready to fire."

Ronon bursts out of the trees, covered in scratches and he's got one of those things on his back. It's slashing at him and Ronon isn't batting it off, isn't firing.

"Ronon!" Sheppard steps forward and he's holding his gun up but not firing. Whether he's trying to avoid pain or trying to avoid shooting Ronon none of them can tell.

"Why isn't he killing it?" McKay asks.

"Ronon! Dammit!"

"I believe he doesn't want to cause you pain," Teyla suggests and Sheppard's expression switches from confusion to outright anger.

Sheppard runs, pulls the creature off Ronon's back and slams it into the ground.

Sheppard falls with it, reaching for his back instinctively and then he points his weapon at the creature, point blank, grimaces and then pulls the trigger. The second the bullet hits home, he's toppled by the pain, dropping his gun and reaching for his head, eyes watering.

Teyla advances. "John!"

Within minutes they're surrounded, those things are chattering incessantly and creeping closer. They've all got their weapons out – ready to fire, but none of them are moving because Sheppard's posture is enough to remind them that this will hurt him.

Ronon allows himself to get attacked again. Rather then shoot at it or arch his elbow up he shakes it off. The creatures rolls to the floor and tries again.

Sheppard seems to regain a little composure and shakily reaches for his gun. "Shoot!" he calls out.

None of them are moving. Ronon will probably permit himself to be scratched again.

Sheppard calls out. "Don't worry about me!" and then he's pushing himself into a standing position.

Ronon wraps an arm around his waist, ready to brace him.

"No matter what, just keep firing," Sheppard orders.

McKay sees Ronon dig his fingers into Sheppard side. This isn't going to be pretty.

They all fire and for several minutes the only sounds that fills the night is bullets ripping through flesh and one man screaming in agony.

By the time they've finished and left bodies everywhere, Sheppard is lying on the ground and gripping his leg.

--

Some time later……….

Sheppard's lying on his side, shaking involuntarily and sweat pours down his face. Teyla places a hand over his and he stares up with a pinched expression.

Doctor Keller has done everything she can – cleaned his wounds, attached him to various medical equipment that beeps erratically every few minutes – but he's still in pain. One hand continuously guards his leg. He won't let anyone touch him, despite there being no visible injury, and he's becoming weaker – showing signs of infection and blood loss, even though there's nothing to treat.

Sheppard clamps his eyes closed and shifts under the covers. The shaking goes up a notch and he pales.

"Think….I…need more……morphine….." he gasps and grips his leg again.

Teyla squeezes his hand and tells him she'll be right back before leaving him and walking the short distance over to Keller. McKay is ranting and Ronon is standing beside him, not quite joining in, but a presence none the less. His arms have been stitched and bandaged.

"He's in agony!" McKay is saying. "You have to help him."

Teyla interrupts and McKay's hands still, as she informs them all, "John is in pain. He is asking for morphine."

Doctor Keller rubs at her face wearily and looks over their shoulders to the man huddled into a ball and trying desperately not to lose it. "I've already given him more than I should. Anymore and I risk causing him serious damage."

"How much more damage can you cause?" McKay asks.

"How's respiratory failure? Heart failure?" Keller looks at them each in turn. "He should be out like a light right now but the morphine isn't making a dent. We even tried to sedate him but-" she pauses when Sheppard makes a horrible groaning noise when he rolls over. "-I'm not sure what else we can do."

"Guys!" Sheppard's calling them, head propped up on the railing.

They all rush over and he's flushed and sweaty. "I...emneed /emhelp," he says in a tone that's on the verge of begging.

"Come on, buddy, you can do this," Ronon says.

"Yeah," McKay tells him. "Uh…buddy."

"I've been shot before……..fed on by a wraith….but……" Sheppard groans. "Not sure how much longer I can stand this."

Ronon grabs his shoulder. "Just hold on. We'll figure this out."

"While you're…..figuring this out…." Sheppard balls his hands into fists, "-could you at least…..knock me the hell out?" That last part is strained, coming out louder than Sheppard probably intends.

"I can't do that Colonel. We tried to sedate you before and-"

Sheppard cuts Keller off before she can finish. "Stun me……." He turns to Ronon and he shakes his head. "Come on….this time……..I'm letting you do it…..not…catching me off-guard…..like last….time." He manages a small smile that soon disintegrates into a grimace. "I can handle pain……….but……..this…..this is………"

"John."

"Keller……" He grips her wrist, eyes glassy, voice slurred. "-cut it off then. I don't need………….."

McKay snorts. "What? You don't need your leg? I think you do. Are you sure the morphine isn't working?"

Sheppard's request is irrational and ridiculous. The pain clearly isn't helping him think straight.

"Take it off. Please………"

"The pain is in your head and-"

"In my head," Sheppard laughs harshly. "In my head…..right…….."

"John, we will-"

"Figure this out," he says. "I know………..I know…….."

--

McKay wakes from the chair he's fallen asleep in and sees Sheppard attempting to slip out of bed unnoticed. "What are you doing?" he whispers, careful not to wake Teyla and Ronon.

He feels guilty that they all managed to sleep when Sheppard's probably been lying awake all this time.

Sheppard's pale and sweating and he's barely managing to stay upright.

"Sheppard?" McKay climbs over Ronon's extended leg and grips Sheppard by the arms. He can feel the tremors wracking his body and he wishes there was something he could do to stop the pain.

"Got…..to go back," Sheppard tells him, eyes unfocused.

"Back to the planet?" Sheppard nods. "We can't. What about those creatures?"

"Don't care," the colonel pushes off the bed and falls against McKay's chest. He lets out a wail of pain before pushing himself onto one leg, unable to put pressure on the other. "Can't wait around anymore."

His teeth are chattering together and his fingers are moving restlessly.

"This is ridiculous." McKay crosses his arms.

"I'm going," Sheppard limps across the infirmary. "You can either stay here…….or help me. You owe me……"

"Why do I owe you?"

Sheppard looks thoughtful for a minute. "I don't know. But you have to owe me…." He waves a hand around as he thinks. "PX934, the bog….i pulled you out of that bog….."

McKay remembers the incident and sighs heavily. Doctor Keller is in her office, still trying to find a way to help Sheppard and the others are splayed out in their respective chairs.

"We need help!" McKay tells him before waking the others.

--

Sheppard can be a stubborn bastard at times, but even he can't disguise the amount of pain he's in anymore. He's attempting to walk unaided down the halls and failing because every step forces him to prop himself against the wall.

They've taken the back route to the Jumper bay. That way they won't encounter any unwanted attention as they aid Sheppard in his escape.

"John, you must return to the infirmary," Teyla warns. "Doctor Keller will be upset that you have left."

Sheppard stops and holds his leg, mouth set into a tight line.

"John."

"Can't just sit around," he tells her. "There's got to be an answer on that planet."

"Then allow us to go back and we will find the answer."

Sheppard sighs and heads towards the jumper bay, dragging his leg behind him.

"She's right you know!" McKay tells him. "And we're the ones that will get into trouble over this. You can just say you were delirious or……drugged or something."

"Yeah," Sheppard practically snarls. "Because the drugs are working so well right now."

"You're an idiot." McKay snaps.

"Wanna switch places?" Sheppard asks. "No. Didn't think so." He continues a few paces and then hall is filled with his cry as he jars his leg.

"Seriously, as if we're going to make progress with you slowing us down."

Ronon speaks up for the first time since leaving the infirmary. He's supported Sheppard in some really crappy decisions but not this time. "McKay's right. You know it."

That makes Sheppard stop in his tracks and he leans against the wall.

"You're a liability," Teyla says, realising what the others are trying to do.

Sheppard looks crestfallen. "I didn't think of that."

McKay pushes the point home. "See, you're not thinking clearly."

"No, maybe…." Sheppard slides down the wall.

"Oh come on!" McKay says. "You wanted us to cut your leg off earlier. You are not thinking at all."

Sheppard is barely holding it together. His hands are balled into fists and he's shivering again. "It's agony. I didn't really want Keller to…" He pauses.

"Pain is a great leveller. It can make even the most even keeled, lose themselves entirely," Teyla explains.

Sheppard looks fleetingly embarrassed before he says, "Fine. You go. I'll stay."

Teyla crouches beside him and takes his hand. "I will call a med team down here to help you."

"No," Sheppard tells them, jaw set. "I can make it back."

"Yes I'm sure you can. Ronon, Rodney I will be with you shortly."

--

McKay and Ronon enter the Jumper and it's McKay that hears the strange wailing noise before they start the engines. He moves to the rear compartment while Ronon shoots him strange looks.

"What?"

McKay paces back and forth while he tries to find the source of the noise. "Don't you hear that?"

"What."

"A emnoise/em obviously."

"Can't hear anything."

"I can………" McKay clears away the racks and finally pulls a compartment open under the seat and takes a step backwards, reaching for the handgun he doesn't carry around Atlantis. "Oh my god! Kill it!"

Ronon's sat in the passenger seat and he throws a look over his shoulder, a smile curving his lips. "You found another spider?"

McKay puts his hands on his hips. "I'm telling you! That spider last week was mutant or something."

"Yeah right," Ronon stands up. "It was tiny."

"It had claws and-" McKay stops himself. "Would you just do something with that!" He points and pushes himself back against the hull.

The creature isn't moving but it's alive and awake. It must have stowed away while they were gunning down the others and helping Sheppard onto the Jumper. With everything that had happened, it would have been easy to miss. While the others were left behind, dead or alive, this one had remained connected to Sheppard, continued to cause him pain.

Ronon prods it with his foot, just as Teyla enters.

"John is on his way back to the infirmary so-" she pauses beside Ronon.

Ronon reaches for his weapon but Teyla pushes his aim away.

"Call Doctor Keller."

"Why?" McKay asks. "It's the reason why Sheppard's in pain. We kill it and he'll be okay."

"We are not off-world now, Rodney. And we are human. Doctor Keller may be able to treat it. And we may be able to learn from it."

"Learn how to kill and be completely evil?" McKay snarks.

"Show compassion, Rodney." Teyla warns him.

"I reserve my compassion for things that don't try to kill my friends," he snaps.

"Rodney."

"Fine, Teyla."

Ronon drags the creature out by its wrist and settles it onto the floor, while McKay radios for help.

Its thigh is torn wide open. No wonder Sheppard is in agony.

--

Teyla glances at the curtain shielding their view of the creature and continues to hold Sheppard's hand. This time she hadn't been the one to instigate the contact; Sheppard had sought her out and intertwined his fingers with hers. He's on his side, curled tightly under the covers, face pressed into his pillow. Whatever examination Keller was doing on the other side of the curtain was causing him distress.

McKay paces back and forth at the end of the bed. "How much longer is this going to take?"

"I do not know." Teyla strokes Sheppard's hair with her free hand and feel his grasp tighten as the creature screams beyond the curtain. "Hopefully, Doctor Keller can treat…." She pauses when Keller pushes the curtain aside and heads towards them, Ronon in tow.

"Well?" McKay's impatient and Teyla feels exactly the same.

Doctor Keller removes her blood stained gloves and shares a look with Ronon. "It's bad. The bullet has shattered its hip. There are shards of bone everywhere…..some of the ligaments have been shredded. I'm sorry, colonel." Sheppard doesn't even look up. "This must be excruciating."

"So what can you do?" McKay asks. "Can you remove the bullet?"

"I could take him, I think it's a him, into surgery but his condition is critical. I'm not sure he'd survive. The only other option-" she pauses and ushers everyone away from Sheppard's bed.

Teyla's hand slips free and Sheppard twists it into the covers. He's not really aware she's left.

"The only other viable option is to amputate," Keller continues when Sheppard's out of earshot. "I could do it under a local anaesthetic so as not to put it at risk but-"

"John will feel everything," Teyla finishes for her.

"Not an option," Ronon says, crossing his arms.

"Without treatment, it will most likely die. Its vitals are non-existent."

"Perhaps we could convince the creature to release the hold it has over John. Then we could treat it. I believe John's connection with the others was severed as soon as we left that planet. The pain only now remains because this creature came back with us."

"I don't even understand why we're helping this thing."

"Because Ronon," Teyla says, "As much as we would like to end John's pain, we cannot ignore another being's distress."

"I can," Ronon answers.

"Me too," McKay says. "Have you seen the Colonel? Keeping that thing alive is going to kill him."

"I'm inclined to agree with Teyla," Keller tells them. "We can't just leave it to die and as a Doctor…..I have to treat it. Do no harm, remember?"

"Well tell that to Sheppard then because I think he's feeling the harm!" McKay snaps.

"I'm going to check on the colonel," Keller informs them and heads off.

Teyla is the only one willing to give it a go. The others want Sheppard's pain to be over sooner rather then later and she agrees but she could not forgive herself if she did not at least try and help this other being. It wasn't a guarantee that it dying would save Sheppard.

As she heads towards the curtain, she looks over to where Keller is checking Sheppard's vitals. He's on his back now, one hand weakly gripping the railing, the other back by his leg. He's shivering and the colour of his skin is ashen. The pain is killing him.

"You should probably hurry," Keller tells her.

--

Teyla pushes the curtains aside and approaches the bed warily. She nods at the marines guarding the creature. Its skin is iridescent in this light. Long limbs hang over the edge of the bed. It watches her, doesn't attempt to free itself from the restraints.

"I am Teyla," she tells it, hoping to find a connection. "Do you have a name?"

It opens its mouth but no sound comes out.

Teyla reaches out and feels the creatures skin. It's cool and clammy. Nothing like she imagined. The marines regard her strangely and tense beside her. She is simply offering comfort, as she had done with John.

"I do not know if you can understand me, but you are hurting my friend. He is…..very sick because of the connection you share."

She glances at the bandage over its leg, soaked through with black blood.

"We want to help you. To do that, you must let him go."

The creature stares up at the ceiling and blinks slowly.

"Please, he did not mean to threaten you. None of us did, we-"

The creature suddenly arches its back and screeches in pain. Teyla retracts her hand as the bed rattles. The marines step forward, weapons raised and ready.

"We are trying to help you." Teyla tells it. "We did not wish to threaten you. John, he……."

The curtain is whipped back and McKay is staring at her, wide eyed and panicked. Teyla suddenly becomes aware of the activity around Sheppard's bed and the erratic beeping of the machine he is coupled to.

"His condition has deteriorated rapidly," Keller says. "He's shocky and showing all the signs of blood loss and infection but there's nothing for me to treat."

Sheppard's eyes are closed but he's still moving, groaning and shifting under the covers. McKay has his hand over Sheppard's and Ronon is holding his legs still.

"We need to make a decision," Keller says.

Teyla turns back to the creature and sees that it is watching John.

"You see," she says. "You are hurting him. He will die if you do not release him. "

The creature twitches.

"Do you not understand compassion?" She's growing frustrated. These creatures do not seem to understand her at all. "If you do not stop this…..we will have to hurt you."

The creature stills and meets her eyes. She cannot tell if she sees fear there.

"So please," she begs.

The creature closes its eyes, chest rising and falling rapidly and the machines surrounding it start to beep as well.

"Doctor Keller?"

Keller's looking flustered as she runs over to her and checks the creatures pulse. "Crap," and she pulls on a fresh set of gloves before ripping away the bandage.

Teyla gets her second glimpse of its injury and wants to gag.

"He's bleeding out. I should have read this from Sheppard." Keller says. "We need to get it into surgery and stem this bleeding."

"I thought you said it could kill it?" McKay calls out from where he's standing guard over Sheppard.

"It could but I don't have any other-" her words are cut off because suddenly the creature is breaking free from it's restraints.

Everyone takes a step back and the marines are about to fire when it closes its eyes. Every machine in the room suddenly starts beeping and flashing, the lights above them dip and there's a beam so bright that everyone is clamping their eyes closed.

Teyla sees the burst of brilliant light leap from the creature and hit Sheppard squarely in the chest. Sheppard sits bolt upright and gasps for breath. Sheppard's eyes are wide and he's clawing at the sheets.

A second later and Teyla watches as the creature sags backward at the same time as Sheppard does.

Keller looks from Sheppard to the creature, clearly shocked and then the machines are coming back online and the aliens monitor is flat lining.

"He's dead," Keller remarks. "Perhaps it understood you?"

"I believe it may have. We tried to help it……."

Sheppard, despite everything is slowly pushing himself towards the edge of the bed and flexing his leg. He's listing drunkenly, face flushed, eyes wide and glassy.

"How are you feeling?" Keller asks, moving to tuck him back in bed.

Sheppard blinks tiredly and there's a hint of a smile.

"I feel pretty………wonderful."

He nods as if he's agreeing with something nobody has said and then collapses backward onto the bed.

--

McKay enters the infirmary and finds Sheppard sitting up in bed playing on his Nintendo. He doesn't even look up when McKay scrapes a chair over to him.

"Are you back with us colonel or are you still in your happy place?"

Sheppard arches an eyebrow. "I'm back."

"Are you sure?"

"Doc says the morphine has left my system. Seems I only really got the full effect when that thing died."

"Yeah, you were pretty spaced out."

Sheppard bites his bottom lip and jabs at the buttons to his computer game. "I'm about ready to get out of here."

"Already bored then?"

"After today, McKay. I'll never be bored again."

"So you're admitting that today was your fault then?"

Sheppard tosses the game aside and sits back. "You wanna a go?"

McKay rolls his eyes but he grabs for it anyway.

"So, what did they do with-" Sheppard hooks a finger over to the other bed.

"In the deep freeze I guess. Why, you miss him?"

"That would be a no."

"Oh i see, you wanted to watch Die Hard with him?"

"Very funny."

Teyla and Ronon arrive and push themselves into chairs beside McKay. Ronon leans over McKay's shoulder to get a better view of what he's doing.

"How are you feeling, John?" Teyla asks. "Are you back with us?"

"I'm back." Sheppard plucks at the blankets awkwardly and says, "So, about today. I just wanted to……..what I mean to say is…..I'm not normally……… I don't normally-"

"Beg?" McKay finishes.

Sheppard shoots him a look that could kill and sighs.

"We'll forget it ever happened," McKay waves a hand at him. "You didn't cry like a baby and-"

"I didn't cry!"

"There was crying," Ronon says.

"I did not cry. Teyla, help me out."

"John is right. There was no crying." She reaches out and touches Sheppard's foot. "Well, not as much as when he was watching Bambi."

"I did not cry! I had something in my eye."

The End


End file.
